The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has called on political leaders to lay out their plans for tackling hardship around the country.
With the general election campaign in full swing, tackling hardship has been labelled a “stain on the moral conscience of our nation” as nearly one million people sit just £10 a week away from poverty. This is on top of the millions of people around the country already living in poverty.
A group that equates to the entire population of Wales (3.2 million) sit only £40 above the poverty line, with 700,000 of these being children, 1.5 million being working-age adults, and one million pensioners. Those who are £10 off poverty are included in this number, however, they could be set to join the 14.2 million people across the UK who are already in poverty – 4.2 million of which are children – unless things improve.
According to the JRF, poverty has not fallen for a prolonged period in almost two decades, with May 2024 seeing reports that 7 million households were forced to go without essentials such as showers, toiletries or adequate clothing in the last six months, whilst also going hungry or being forced to skip meals.
CEO of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Paul Kissack, said:
“Such high levels of hardship, with millions experiencing poverty and millions more teetering on the edge of it, are a stain on the moral conscience of our nation.
“It has been six Prime Ministers since this country last made sustained progress on reducing poverty. During that time we’ve seen a sustained rise in the number of people in deep poverty, with hardship and destitution growing even faster. Whoever is Prime Minister after July 4th must make reversing this dismal trend a priority.
“Our political leaders must be specific and ambitious about how they will tackle poverty. But so far, there hasn’t been anything like the level of urgency from either Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer that we need to see. Pointing to future growth as a panacea just won’t cut it.”
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